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Month: January 2012

The rich and the famous

The rich and the famous are taking on the tradition of naming their grand estates and most notably would be Graceland where Elvis once resided. Nicholas Cage resides at MidfordCastle, author Roald Dahl and his fashionable daughter Sophie Dahl reside at Gipsy House, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zetta-Jones at Longlands, Bob Geldolf at Davington Priory, George Harrison-Friar Park, Sir Richard Attenborough-Old Friars, Madonna-Holland Park, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes-Dulwich and the late Michael Jackson resided in mystery at Neverland.

House names vary according to the taste and personality of their owners. Some home owners may choose a name to reflect a bygone era: The Renaissance and Gothic Manor. For homes with personality plus consider The Zany Zone. For a brightly coloured home, The Painted Lady. Others may choose a house name to reveal the heritage of the owner, Maori House or Lakota. For a name that is fresh and individual think about Sunnycroft, or one with a wonderful energy, Folly Farm or Edenhope. Names can also evoke feelings of power, High Court Manor or strength, The Pillars.

Hardiness of the house name

It is important to choose a name that will be as fashionable today as it will be tomorrow, or even a century from now. To ensure the durability of your house name, consider adhering to traditional names or names that have been tried and tested over the years to have lasting appeal for example: The Manor, Summermead, Springvale, Rose Cottage, Oaklands, Woodside or The Old Dairy. (See the chapter, It’s Tradition)

Remembrance

Naming a house after a loved one is a memorial that will last and ensure that your loved one will live on and be remembered, Elizabeth Cottage, Johnstone Manor and Cavagnagh. A house may also be passed down from one generation to the next and a much-loved grandparent or great grandparent may be honoured by naming the house after them, Violet’s Cottage, Kath’s Cottage, Theodore’s Valley, Ruby Fields.

Family names

Surnames are a popular means for finding a suitable house or property name and also represent an attachment to the home that could last generations; for example: Taylor House, Howard Hall, Montgomery Manor and Grantley Estate.

Combining the names of one’s children or family members can create a unique name for one’s home. For example, combining Shay and Lea results in Shaylea. Glen and Gary results in Glengary and Sara and Anna becomes Saranna. Marwyland is the result of mixing three family member names, Margot, Wylie and Andrew.

For something different first names can also be reversed to make a house name; for example: Senga (Agnes), Eronelle (Ellenore), Samoht (Thomas) or Nawor (Rowan). Names are only limited by the pronunciation, remember not to overwhelm the reader by excessive letters that makes both reading and saying the name difficult.

The romance of the foreign name

Foreign villages, boroughs, towns or cities may be a source of motivation for house and property names as people immigrate as a memorial to mark the family’s history, for instance: Cheshire or Stratford. Some towns have even been named after an original prominent property that dominated the area before the town was built.

Foreign words conjure up a special exotic feel for a house. They may show that the owner is well travelled or versed in language. Some examples in French: La Maison Blanche (The White House), Haute Vue (High View), Le Nid (The Nest), Mer Vue (Sea View), Notre Maison (Our Home), Petit Coin (Little Corner). Belle Vue (Beautiful View), Belvior (Beautiful Valley), Bonne Chance (Good Luck) and Vue Du Jardin (Garden View). Spanish: La Casa Blanca or Casablanca, meaning The White House and Sombre las Nubes-(Above the Clouds). A famous New Zealand Maori house name is Kia Ora maning good health and Karanga means welcome. In German Haus means house and Himmel is Heaven.

A wished-for destination can inspire dreams of fancy for your house name—for example Tuscany, Montana, Niagara or Paris. Arguably the residence with the best known name is the Taj Mahal, built in Agra India, by the Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The name is believed to have come from an shortened form of her name. It may be used as a name for either a large house, one influenced by Indian design, or as a bold name for a small house.

A stroll in the countryside

The beautiful countryside, flowers, rivers and mountains can provide the imagery that makes choosing a name difficult but also inspirational. Beautiful views can inspire names such as Bella Vista, Lovely Lea, Sea View, Golden Sands, and Lake View. Just look around at your environment for enlightenment: Daisy Fields, The Woods, Wisteria Cottage, The River Bend or Field Of Heather.

Reversing the spelling of a favourite word or name can be a fascinating enigma to visitors who may try to work out the meaning of the name. One of the most famous house names is a simple reversal of Our Home – Emoh Ruo, Heaven-Nevaeh, Camelot-Tolemac, Eden-Nede, Welcome-Emoclew, Love-Evol, Forever-Reverof and Clover-Revolc are a few examples of this naming method.

The real estate game and the house name

In the real estate business it is good to stand out from the crowd when it comes to selling. From a real estate standpoint, a house name may give personality and evoke the feeling of an elegant, well-maintained property and thus be more attractive to a buyer . A house known as Eden’s Garden is more likely to draw interest than a house at 42 Main Street. If you are considering selling your home, consider the appeal that a house with a name can offer. However, remember that a name with elegance, sophistication and style such as Oaklands, Rose Cottage or Erindale will provide an easier sale than a house with a mischievous name such as Didyabringyagrogalong. Other names that conjure up images of dollar signs are Wentworth, The Manor, Eton, Beaumont and The Hamptons. Sometimes The Manor is used ‘tongue-in-cheek’ for a run-down home so try and think originality.

Concrete jungle

With most of the world’s population residing in cities, it is obvious that not everyone can have beautiful rural views of rolling meadows, trickling brooks and homes named Forestglade or Sweeping Fields. With a little imagination, inspiration can still be taken from the surrounding environment, for example: High-rise Haven, City View, High Tower, Western View, South View, Harbour Vista, The Beehive, Stonehenge or Grey Port View.

Timber, mud and stone

Building materials can also be a great source of inspiration for your house or property name. Pine Cottage, Oak House, Cedar Lodge, Pine Wood Estate, Cherrywood Cottage, The Stone House, Bluestone House, Ironhouse, Claystone, Rock Cottage, Mud Cottage, Flatrock Cottage, Stone Manor, Limestone Lodge, Tile Top, Mud Bick Bungalow, Brick Shack, Concrete Castle, Woodside, and Timber Tree Cottage to name but a few. (See the chapter A home made with love for more on this naming style).

Centuries ago, castles, stately manors, farms, houses and cottages were given a name of their own so they could easily be identified throughout a shire or county. There were no such things as street directories, street names or satellite navigation for people to find each other. A stranger could ask an informed villager in the area where, for instance Ivy Cottagewas and be given directions to the property.

As populations grew and large cities emerged, finding each other became more complicated and it became apparent that a more exact system of locating people would be needed. The street and numbering system as we know it today was introduced in Paris in 1463, and was later introduced to Britain in 1765, Australia in 1854 and in New York State in 1811.

Traditionally, house or property names are first given by the architect, builder or initial owner. A house name can portray a sense of history, ownership, the surrounding vista, or denote the wealth and power of its owner. Names such as Windsor Castle, Admiralty House and The White House suggest wealth, ownership and importance. A name can also promote the environment surrounding it and bringing it to the attention of the visitor, Ocean View or the use of the land The Medicine Lodge. Humour can also play a part in naming a home: The Bank’s or Dunroamin’.

Today, naming a house is back in vogue with the resurgence of passionate renovators, architects, builders and new home owners placing their own mark on a house by giving it a name and a in doing so a personality. House naming was a tradition our grandparents often followed, and a wander through your local neighbourhood will no doubt reveal name plaques such as HillView, The Cottage, Rosebank, or something similar. House naming is considered romantic, individual, traditional and some towns are even making having a house name a tourist attraction.

Doo-Town in Tasmania, Australia is where the locals display their wit with house names ending in ‘doo’. Local architect Eric Round began the tradition in the 1930’s and it continues on today. Examples include: Love-me-doo, Much-ado, Xanadooand Gunadoo.

Welcome to Name your house or property. This site is a prelude to my up and coming book of the same title. Previously I have written 10,000 House Names (now out of print). This new book is a much improved version of the first and I hope to have published in 2012.

Why a house name book?

So many houses or properties in the United Kingdom, U.S.A., Australia and New Zealand (to name but a few), have names. Have you ever wonder what that is all about? Houses are places of history, where people have loved and lost, found great happiness and endured great sadness and often possess great attachment for those who have dwelt there. Houses so often develop their own character and some people feel that this deserves to be acknowledged with a name. Others may need a house or property name out of necessity for an address or for a farm business. No matter the reason for naming your house, you will find this book an interesting starting point for your journey of making your house unique and developing its own person history.

Name your house or property has an imaginative, romantic, descriptive and even functional suggestions for house and property names. It also gives the meaning and show you how to develop your own unique house name using differig techniques.

To wet your appetite, the contents include such chapters as:

CHAPTER 1. THE EVOLUTION OF THE HOUSE NAME. Personality. Hardiness of the house name. Remembrance. Family names. The romance of the foreign name. A stroll in the countryside. Flowers, feathers, fur and fish. Reversing words for effect. The real estate game and the house name. Concrete jungle. Timber, mud and stone. Famous houses in literature. Contemporary television and the house name. The rich and the famous. Royalty house. Great American mansions. Historic houses in Australia. Historic houses in England. Historic houses in Wales. Historic homes of Ireland. Historic homes of Scotland. Haunted houses. Houses of horror. Memorable places.

CHAPTER 2. HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN HOUSE NAME.

CHAPTER 3. HOW TO DISPLAY YOUR HOUSE NAME. Clear and distinct lettering. Fonts and lettering. Capital letters. Scripted letters. Old English-style letters. American influenced fonts. Contemporary lettering. Different styles of nameplates or plaques. Illustrated designs. Where to place your house name plaque.

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Name Your House or Property

About Lori Cooper

WARNING: Musings on names are frequently interrupted by musical obsessions

There’s more to Lori Cooper than meets the eye…house name enthusiast, music obsessive, Thai food enthusiast, ex-prison guard, blogger, zombie & Supernatural fan, amateur photographer, Springsteen fan & mum of twins… All this and she says she can’t cook a cake to save her life! (Luckily she’s not writing a cook book!)

A near completed work that has updated and improved on Lori’s first book 10,000 House Names (now out of print). “When I bought my own home I searched high and low for the perfect name for our cottage but couldn’t find much information out there on house names. It inspired me to write the book. We finally settled on ‘Biggletree’ for the big-old-tree that stands sentry in our front yard.” Name your House or Property is full of names, meanings, origins, most popular property names, how to display your house name plaque, types of signs and so much more.

See my blog or Facebook information at the bottom of this blurb.

75,000+ Baby Names for the 21st Century (published)and Beautiful Baby Names (yet to be published).

What is it about names that makes Lori so fascinated by them?

So what is the fascination with names? ‘I first became interested in names in my teens while perusing through a baby name book. When I looked up my name it said ‘Lori, see Laura’. I thought it pretty rude that the author didn’t either bother to write an individual meaning, even if it was the same as Laura (or so she thought). It got me thinking about all the other baby names in the world that never even rated a mention. With all the unusual and multicultural names in the world, I saw a niche market for this book. Australia, UK, New Zealand, Canada and America are becoming increasingly multicultural so I thought it would be a good selling point for my baby name book to set it apart from all the others on the shelves.’

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